Seeking shelter outside of Walford?

This week, families all over the country will be tucking into mince pies, putting their decorations up, and wrapping presents to leave under the tree. But, as highlighted in this week's dramatic storyline, which saw the Moon family out on the streets, with no option but to move to Hull, many of Britain’s 93,000 homeless children face waking up in one room of a hostel or B&B that they share with their entire family. There will be no space to even eat their dinner, let alone put up a Christmas tree.

“Whilst Kat and Alfie’s story might be fictional, the agonising choice between a Christmas spent sofa-surfing, or leaving everything they know to move into an emergency B&B miles away from home, is all too familiar for many families," revealed John Gallagher from homelessness charity Shelter’s legal team, who worked with EastEnders on the storyline.

“The latest government figures show that over 15,000 homeless households in England have been sent to temporary accommodation, including emergency B&Bs and hostels, away from their home area," he added. "This means that families are having to cope not just with the trauma of losing their home, but moving miles away from everything they know as well."

“Behind these statistics are the heart-breaking stories of the homeless families we work with every day at Shelter. Ordinary people who’ve had to leave jobs, schools, family and friends behind to move to a different part of the country for weeks or even months."

With housing costs sky-high and many living on a financial knife-edge, one piece of bad luck can be all it takes to send a family spiralling towards homelessness.

"At Shelter we’re here so that no-one has to face this on their own, and our advisers will be working non-stop this Christmas, even on Christmas day, to support families who are battling to keep a roof over their children’s heads," John added. "We provide free, independent advice to anyone struggling with bad housing and homelessness, and won’t stop until everyone has a stable, safe and decent home for the future.”

Shelter helps over three million people a year with housing problems, through online, phone and face-to-face advice. You can find out more about the work they do - and how you can get help - at www.shelter.org.uk.